Transmission line suspension



June 25, 1935. E. E. ARNOLD TRANSMISSION LINE SUSPENSION Filed June 29, 1933 INVENTOR Edwin 5/7/71 0/0.

Patented June 25, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TRANSMISSION LINE SUSPENSION Edwin E. Arnold, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application June 29,1933, Serial No. 678,247

v 8 Claims. (01. 248-63) The present invention relates to cable suspenof one modification of the clamp constituting the sion devices for securing transmission line cables present invention; to supporting towers, and more particularly to ,a Fig. 2 is an enlarged view in elevation of the cable suspension of improved design wherein central supporting structure, corresponding to molecular fatigue of the cable adjacent to the thatishown in 8- 01 another odlfl fl fl 01 5 support, resulting from vibration of the cable, is the inven on; substantially eliminated, and the vibration itself Fig. 3 is a view inzlateral section taken on the is eiiectively damped. line III-III in Fig.

In the past much thought has been given to the Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a cable receivprevention of transmission line breakage, and the s e t ow in F 8 2 nd l0 consequent reduction in failure of power supply Fig. 5 is an enlarged view in elevation of the and strain or damage to the supporting towers, vibration damping device Shown in F sa and various types of clamps or reenforcements Fig. 6 IS an enlfllfled Sectional Vlew 0! vhave been proposed for reducing or attempting bration absorbing element shown in Fig. 5.

to eliminate these diillculties. In substantially Referring more specifically to the drawing and 15 all -cases, however, there has been a more or less particularly Fig. 1 thereof, a multi-leaf spring I rigid connection between the cable and the supof flexible strip material, su as sp n tee s porting structure through the clamp, so that cable adapted to underlie the cable 2 for a substantial vibrations reacting against the clamp resulted in distance. As shown, the spring is composed of sharp bending of the cable at the point of clampthree leaves of different length; although quite. 20 ing. Inevitable molecular fatigue and consequent obviously the number and dimensions of the breakage resulted. leaves, as well as the material of which they are Cable vibrations which cause a horizontal made, may be varied to meet the requirements of movement or swing of the cable are not particua given installation.

larly harmful, because the cable and clamp are Adjacent to its end portions, the longest leaf 26 free to swing together about the point of support of the spring I is formed to approximately conof the insulator string. It is necessary, therefore, form to the contour of the cable 2, and is proonly to particularly guard against vibrations causvided with lateral extensions 3 extending at an ing vertical movement of the cable, which moveangle with respect to the axis of the cable.

30 mcnts cause a bending of the cable at the point The mid-portions oi the leaves of the spring 30 of clamping because vertical movement 01' the l are bent or deformed and serve the double purclamp is restricted. pose of imparting a limited longitudinal resiiliemg It is an object of the present invention to proto the spring, and of maintaining he sp ng vide a simple and inexpensive suspension which proper position with reference to the supporting provides a resilient connection between the cable structure, as hereinafter described. It is con- 35 and the supporting structure to prevent the damtemplated that the spring shall be of substantial aging effect of line vibration on the cable, and length, of the order of several feet, so that the embodies means for effectively damping such viends will be a substantial distance from the point bration. of support.

40 In I practicing the invention, an elongated The ends of the spri I are ed t h 40 spring of flexible strip material underlies the concable by m ns of clamps h mpris ng a ductor fora substantial part of the length thereof lower 5 and an upper Shoe 5 clamped and is firmly clamped to the conductor at widely gether with as shown The longitudfnal Spaced points A pp g shoeunderuesthe edges oi the upper clamping shoes 6 are provided i strip at substantially the mid point thereof and E g g i g i i g F to e m we r t nitis resists secured to the cross arm of the transmission line hecreigafter g p p tower, or other supporting structure, by means of A supporing shoe or Saddle w is disposed about a smug msflamrsthe mid-point of the spring I and loosely sur- The extremities of the elongated spring are rounds the conductor A spacing or cab1e re adapted to resiliently support weighted members ceiving member shown more clearly in 4 o p a Wlth e y absorbing means to damp is provided with outwardly extending ears adaptvibrations occurring on the conductor. ed to cooperate with notches formed in the upper In the drawing, Figure 1 is .a view in elevation edge of the shoe Ill, and inwardly extending ears adapted to embrace the cable. The spacing member ll may be of aluminum or copper sheet material (for use with aluminum or copper cables, respectively) punched to the form shown, and is effective to prevent lateral movement, and hence possible abrasion, of the cable. The outwardly extending ears cooperating with the notches in the edges of the shoe insure that these parts will be maintained in proper operative relation, and

the inwardly extending ears maintain the spacing member in proper position on the cable. It is probable that the inwardly extending ears are not entirely necessary because in a cable supporting arrangement according to the present invention, there is little or no tendency for vertical movement of the cable with reference to the shoe l0.

By the provision of spacing members, such as I l, of sheet material of diiferent thickness, a shoe l0 having a given width may properly be used to receive cables of various diameters, thereby affording manufacturing economy.

A cupped portion in the saddle l0 cooperates is secured to the transmission line tower or other support. It will be noted that the bolt l3 extends transversely of the saddle l0 above the bent portion in the springs I and beneaththe cable'2 to maintain the saddle in proper position with reference to the spring and cable.

The extremities 3 of the elongated spring mem her I are return bent and secured to vibration damping means 8. The damping means comprises two masses of lead, cast iron, or other suitable material, clamped together at their lower extremities to'the end of the spring member, and having a combined weight of the order of ten pounds for ordinary weight of cable and length span. With such construction, the weights are free to vibrate in a vertical plane, due to the resiliency of the spring portion 3, and exert a force in opposition to the vibration of the cable. It is understood, of course, that the position of the clamp 4, and accordingly the point at which the mensions and material, length of the span, cable tension, and other such considerations.

A further feature of the dampening device 8 is that means are also provided to damp oscillations on the device itself. It will be noted that the inner faces of the weight members, contacting with the sides of spring portion 3, are curves so that oscillation of the dampening device causes these faces to tend to roll along the portion 3. Preferably the curve of the faces is a logarithmic one, which is the shape assumedby the portion 3 when it bends resiliently, so that bending of the portion 3 causes an increasing contact area between the strip and either one of the curved faces depending upon the direction of the bend.

The center of gravity of the weights is beyond the normal point of contact between the curved surfaces and the flat sides of the strip, so that as the strip portion 3 vibrates the point of contact will be varied to automatically change the natural periodicity of the strip, and accordingly damp its oscillation.

In order to further absorb or dissipate the energy of the vibration forces set up in the cable,

and transmitted to the device 8, two bodies 9 of resilient material, are disposed between the weight portions and the spring 3, as shown more clearly in Fig. 5. The bodies 9 may be of any suitable resilient material having substantial internal friction, to afiord a medium for the dissipation of energy and are disposed in recesses cast or otherwise formed in the curved faces of the weight portions. The bodies 9 are less in diameter than the size of the recesses so that they may freely expand circumferentially, and are such size that they are normally under axial compression. A

suitable material is a cheap grade of rubber, containing cork, mineral filler, sand or the like, such as ordinary rubber stoppers used for bottling purposes;' As the weight portions'oscillatewith reference to the spring 3, the bodies 9 will be compressed and expanded, and due to their internal friction will dissipate the energy transmitted tov the damping device, and damp the vibration in the device and hence alloy the source of vibration in the cable itself. r

In order to prevent aging of the bodies 9, particularly when they are of rubber, they should be coated with a protective compound; For example, if rubber corks are used, they may be first dipped in rubber latex. or pure rubber compound with an oxidation preventive.

In'Figs. 2 and 3, the construction is the same as that shown in Fig. 1 except that the spring comprises a single strip 29 of flexible material, instead of a plurality of strips as in Fig. 1. Such construction may be considered preferable for many applications, both for engineering and economic reasons. The various parts shown in Figs. 2 and 3 are numbered to correspond with the corresponding parts shown in Fig. 1.

7 It should be apparent that, with the construction described, vibrations occurring in the line 2 between spans will cause movement at the ends oi. the strip or, spring, but there is no relative movement between the clamps 4 and the cable 2 and there is, accordingly, no bending of the conductor at the point of clamping. In addition, the cable 2 extendsfreely through the shoe Ill and, since relative movement is permitted, there is no stress imposed upon the cable at the point'of support; the spacing member ll being effective merely to prevent lateral horizontal movement of the cable relative to the shoe.

In view of the fact that the strip or spring is resiliently flexible in a vertical plane, it is effec tive to damp or absorb, to some extent, vibrations on the cables; and the widely spaced clamps in conjunction with the longitudinal resiliency of the strip affordedby the bend in the mid-portion thereof, result in a desired stress distribution and stress relief in the cable and supporting structure. v

In addition, the damping devices 8 are effective to damp oscillatory movement of the conductor, and are assisted in this function by the frictional contact between the leaves ofthe elongated spring, as in Fig. 1, and the frictional contact between the spring and the conductor. The strip or spring is so dimensioned and of such material that it can assume safely the strain imposed by the weight of the cable, and constitutes a resilient tie between the clamps.

Y eliminate the vibration Inasmuch as it is impossible to completely in a transmission line span, a practical solution of the problem of cable breakage due to vibration is the provision of a structure, as above described, wherein a high degree of damping is afforded and the effect of the vibration on the cable is eliminated, or at least substantially reduced.

In the majority of cases, .cable vibration is caused by'the aerodynamic effect of wind on the cable. There is seldom a sudden jar or shock to initiate the oscillation, but rather a constantly applied small force which is cumulative in setting up the oscillation. -A successful clamping device, therefore, need be capable of only a relatively small damping action, or be capable of dissipating a relatively small amount of energy. Ac-. cordingly, although the rubber inserts 8 are relatively small, they have an appreciable eflect on the damping action, and coupled'with the action of the weights on the spring 3, and the friction between the spring and cable, the oscillating forces resulting from cable vibration an effectively damped. The major portion of the damping action, of course, is effected 'by the weights 8 and resilient spring portion 3 by changing the period of the primary vibration and to transmitting a secondary period to the energy absorbing members for dissipation thereby. That is, the primary vibration on the cable causes a vibration of the resilient spring portion 3 which has the natural period of a vibrating reed. This sec ondary vibration, of the spring portion 3, has superimposed upon it the vibration of the weights 8 as they oscillate about the point of contact with the spring' portion; the point of contact being variable but eccentric with respect to the center of gravity of the weights. The secondary vibration changes the period of the primary cable vibration, and the vibrational energy is absorbed and dissipated by the rubber inserts 9.

Although the rubber inserts 8,. in the damping device 8 are shown as a preferred construction, it should be apparent that'many other forms of frictional, energy-absorbing means between the weights 8 and spring 3 would be suitable to effect the desired result. Also, the weights need not be disposed horizontally, as shown, but may be suspended vertically, so long as their osciliation occurs in a vertical plane so that the damping couple has a component in opposition to the vertical vibration of the cable. r

Quite obviously, various modifications may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and it is desired that only such limitations be placed thereon as are imposed by the prior art and set forth In the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination with a transmission line cable and a support therefor, of a cable suspension device for securing the cable to the support including an elongated member secured to the cable at spaced points on opposite sides of the support, resilient extremities on said elongated member, and a substantial mass secured to the free ends of said extremities for oscillation therewith in response to oscillations of said cable.

2. A supporting device for a transmission line cable comprising a resilient tie member for dis-' position longitudinally of the cable and in contact therewith, means adjacent the ends of said tie member for securing it to the cable, means engaging the central portion of said tie member and free of the cable for securing the clamp to a support, and damping weights secured to the extremities oi said tie member.

3. A supporting device for a transmission line including means for maintaining said member and strip in operative position.

4. A supporting device for a transmission line cable.comprising a flat strip having a substantial resiliency in a vertical plane for disposition beneath the cable longitudinally thereof having end portions curved laterally to conform to said cable and having a deformed central portion, clamps for securing said end portions to the cable, a shoe engaging the central portion of said strip and loosely surrounding the cable, a spacing device cooperating with said cable and shoe to prevent relative horizontal movement therebetween, means for retaining said spacing device in operative position, and means pivotally secured to said shoe for securing the assembly to a support including a bolt extending transversely of the shoe cooperating with the deformed central portion of said strip to maintain the shoe and strip in operative relation.

5. A vibration damper comprising a strip of resilient material having one end adapted to be secured to a vibrating body, a weight of substantial mass extending partly along said strip and secured to the free extremity thereof, and a curved surface on said weight for cooperating with a flat sideof said strip whereby when the damper is in oscillation the point of contact between the weight and strip is varied.

6. A vibrationdamper comprising a strip of resilient material having one end adapted to be secured to a vibrating body, a weight of substantial mass extending partly along said strip and secured to the free extremity thereof, a surface on said weight opposite the flat side of said strip having a contour which gradually curves away from said strip from its point of contact therewith; the center of gravity of said weight being spaced from its point of contact with the strip in a direction longitudinally of the strip.

7. A vibration damper comprising a strip of resilient material having one end adapted to be secured to a vibrating body, a weight of substantial mass extending partly along said strip and secured to the free extremity thereof, and a curved surface on said weight for cooperating with a flat side of said strip whereby when the damper is in oscillation the point of contact between the weight and strip is varied and means between said weight and strip for frictionally absorbing relative vibrations therebetween.

8. In combination with a body subject to vibration, a vibration damper comprising means set into vibration in response to the vibration of said body, means for varying the period of vibration of said first means to change the period of vibration of said body and energy dissipating means between said first and second mentioned means.

EDWIN E. ARNOLD. 

